Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/333611 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18172
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Using data from over 500,000 dual-earner households in Mexico, we provide evidence of discontinuities in the distribution of relative income within households in Latin America. Similar to the situation in high-income countries, we observe a sharp drop at the 50% threshold, i.e., where the wife earns more than the husband, but the discontinuity is up to five times larger and has increased over time. These patterns are robust to the exclusion of equal earners, self-employed individuals, and couples in the same occupation/industry. Discontinuities persist across subgroups, including couples with or without children, those with married or unmarried partners, and those with older wives or female household heads. We also find comparable discontinuities in Brazil and Panama, as well as among some same-sex couples. Moreover, women who are primary earners continue to supply more nonmarket labor than do their male partners, although the gap is narrower than in households where the woman is the secondary earner.
Subjects: 
gender norms
relative income
Latin America
JEL: 
D13
D91
J12
J15
J16
O15
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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